Editorials

July 16, 1999

Smithfield death

Plant must ensure tolerable working conditions

Andrew Hardy had worked about eight years at Smithfield Packing. He probably wasn't looking forward to toiling on the "kill floor," where hogs are slaughtered, on that hot, humid day last week. Outside temperatures reached 90 degrees, and at least one employee said working conditions inside were "hot as hell."

Hardy, 29, never made it home. Instead, he died from hyperthermia at 3:10 p.m. July 7 at Smithfield Medical Center. He also suffered a seizure on the examining room table at the urgent care center.

What happened between the time he became ill on the kill floor and died at the urgent care center should be at the heart of an investigation by the Virginia Occupational Safety and Health Program.

Do plant supervisors give employees enough breaks while working in the hot, messy conditions? A plant spokesman said water and Gatorade are available for employees on the floor, but only a small part of the area has air conditioning.

How hard was Hardy pushed to finish his task? Did managers respond quickly enough when he took ill? Or, did Hardy perhaps have some health condition that contributed to his death? His relatives say that was not the case, and they want some straight answers about how Hardy died, and why a plant van -- instead of the county's ambulance -- took him to the medical center.

They deserve those answers from plant management. Granted, a plant spokesman said the case is the first heat-related fatality at Smithfield since the plant opened in 1936.

But management must heed the findings of the state investigation and make any needed changes in the working atmosphere in the plant: does the heat, on certain days, makes the conditions dangerous, do employees get enough breaks, and can something can be done to prevent a repeat of what happened to Hardy.

Hampton youth

Support plans to create a teen-ager friendly city

Right on Hampton. The city is looking ahead to 2010 and envisions Hampton as a teen-ager friendly place of wholesome activities and services.

This week the Hampton Planning Commission approved an amendment to the city comprehensive plan that encourages planning by teen-agers of services for teen-agers.

Young people, here are opportunities to work with the community and have services and conveniences that speak directly to your age group.

The goal is to have the services in place a decade from now. That means teen-agers and adults must get involved now.

The ideas from a 20-member youth commission are practical: More bikeways and more places to park bicycles; improved public transit service to middle and high schools and other places teen-agers frequent; and a teen center in the Coliseum Central area near the mall and movie theaters.

In keeping with the aim to be youth friendly, the planning commission will begin to meet at 3:30 p.m. instead of 2 p.m. so teen-age planners can meet after school.

Hampton teens, support your peers on the commission who are building a more accessible community.

Guns and the NAACP

Saturation of urban areas with firearms must stop

The NAACP on Monday promised to sue handgun manufacturers for reckless distribution of its products. The civil rights organization is doing the right thing for the good of all Americans. It isn't suing for money, but will seek an injunction to force gun makers to be more responsible.

For starters, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People stance is courageous. Gun manufacturers and the gun lobby are well financed and bellicose. They claim the lawsuit is foul play, an assault on the Second Amendment right to bear arms.

Actually, the challenge is about convincing an industry to end -while continuing to sell its products- the obscene practice of flooding areas with lethal weapons then distancing itself from the deadly consequences. This has to end.

African-American males ages 15 to 24 are five times more likely to be injured by guns than young white males. Firearm homicides have been among the top two causes of death for young black males for the last 30 years, at the same time gun manufacturers encouraged an oversupply of guns and underground gun markets in urban areas.

Guns are a menace to families and law enforcement. Gun makers and the gun lobby must stop saying disingenuously that the deadly consequences are not their fault.

They can do something. Manufacturers can stop flooding vulnerable areas with cheap handguns, and they can encourage eliminating the loopholes that abet criminals.

The required testing and background checks performed in order to buy and sell handguns is undermined by the 1 percent of dealers and private owners who sell millions of guns unregulated at flea markets, in private homes and even over the Internet. These firearms are linked to half of the guns used in crimes.

Instead of promoting handgun sales at any cost, gun manufacturers should be better citizens. If they are clueless on what it takes to be responsible, the NAACP lawsuit seeking stricter controls on handguns should make the issue crystal clear.